A:TLA, S 4, Air, Ch 1: The Southern Water Tribe
by Electric7
Summary: Chapter 1 of Season 4: Air. Katara and Zuko reunite at the Southern Water Tribe once again, but this time, things have changed...


Katara ran into her dad's arms. She was so glad to be home. With her were Appa and Momo, residing by the cool, calm waters. She looked up at the new city. _It's as great as the Northern Water Tribe, _she thought. Tears swelled up into her eyes. After about 3 years, she was finally where she belonged. The world was at peace, and she had spread the news of Aang all across the world. She was so cheerful.

The first year was when she had traveled with Aang, Sokka, and Toph to the Firelord's Palace. The next two years, Katara traveled with Toph to every corner of the world. They spread the news of Aang, and how great the last avatar had been. Since Aang had died, no avatar had been reborn. There was no one to take that place. Seeing that the avatar vanished from the world, the 3 remaining nations were brought together in harmony. From this experience, the world became closer. Since then, more children have been born as benders. More children were filled with spirit, even though the avatar was gone. They knew not to lose hope, for they dreamed of a day when the avatar would return. They thought, that since the last avatar had vanished for 100 years, that a new avatar would one day appear.

Katara had matured while she was away. She was now 16, and her brother was 17. She realized that there are many different kinds of people around the world, and in a way, they are all connected. She traveled to all of the Air Nation Temples, the Northern Water Tribe, Kyoshi Island, most of the Earth Kingdom, and most of the Fire Nation. It was a great sight to see. She was very pleased that she had Appa, Momo, and Toph to accompany her.

Katara walked into the Southern Water Tribe Palace with her family. The view was spectacular. Waterfalls rushed down the walls. There were stairs leading up to a ceremonial chamber. Statues of the ocean and moon spirits were in the middle of the room. Beautiful ice sculptures stood in the corners. There was a certain glow to the entire place. She smiled. After all of those years living in the run down Southern Water Tribe, she was finally in a better, safer, and more cheerful place. She hugged her brother and her father, and left the palace to find Gran-Gran.

She walked down to the edge of the water. Gran-Gran was standing there, taking deep breaths. She turned to look at her granddaughter. Tears rolled down her wrinkled cheeks, and she smiled a great smile. "Katara… I am so proud of you," she began saying, "You… you brought this world back to peace. You did what almost no one else could dream of. I never thought we had a chance at peace. I lost hope that the avatar would return, but you… Katara, you showed me. You showed me the meaning of hope. You showed me that there will always be hope in the world. For that, I am grateful, and I have a gift to show you."

Gran-Gran took Katara's arm and led her back into the palace. She twisted and turned through doorways and hallways, one after another. Katara tried remembering the path they had taken, but she couldn't. Next thing she knew, her grandmother had stepped aside, and Katara peeked through the doorway. There was a gigantic bedroom. In the corner was a bed, and in the center was a small oasis of water from the Northern Water Tribe's oasis. She looked on the other side of the room. There was a wardrobe with furs and dresses filling it. Katara smiled. She had been wearing the same thing for a long, long time now, and she thought she would finally have a change. Then, Gran-Gran told her, "There will be a ceremony tonight. It is the full moon, and you will be our guest of honor. Now, choose a dress." She smiled and walked out of the room, leaving Katara.

Katara ran into her room and jumped onto her bed. _It's soooooo warm! _She thought. _I'm so glad they did this for me! _She smiled gleefully and ran to the wardrobe. She saw the finest silk dresses and furs that you could find. She rummaged through the wardrobe, and finally saw something that caught her eye. It was a light blue silk dress with a white sash. Tears of joy ran down her cheeks. She grasped the dress, and ran to the bathroom that was connected to her room. She had a steam bath, and put on the dress. She looked at her reflection in the water and smiled. It was the perfect dress for her. She braided her hair and made her hair 'loopies', like old times. She smiled again, and walked gracefully into the center area of the Palace.

That evening, the ceremony began. Music was being played by the instrumentalists, and waterbenders from the Northern Water Tribe were demonstrating their talent. Katara watched in amazement. She would have loved to join them, but she was wearing a beautiful dress that she wouldn't want to ruin. She glanced over to where Gran-Gran, her father, and Sokka were sitting. She moved her eyes around the room, and then took a second look at the table her family was at. Her eyes became wide. She saw someone in a red uniform talking to her father. He had medium black hair and he carried a pair of broadswords. He had a sad look in his eyes. She had known immediately who it was.

She walked over to Firelord Zuko. He was now 18, and became Firelord once she left the Fire Nation. She was baffled. He glanced at her, and continued talking to the Chief. Once he was done, he looked at Katara, and smiled a half hearted smile. "Hey, I was wondering if you were back. I arrived just now with my fleet of Royal Fire Nation ships. I was just… you know… dropping by." Katara gave him a confused look.

"What are you really here for?" she demanded.

"Katara, it's hard to explain, but after you left the Fire Nation, my people started rebellions. There were still people who believed fire was superior. They believed that since we had extinguished the Air Nomads that we could take on the other nations. My uncle was been keeping the people from overthrowing us, but it has been getting harder every day. Katara, just a few days ago, as soon as we set sail for the Southern Water Tribe, one of my loyal towns was burned down by a group of rebels. They stated that they wouldn't leave us alone, and that if we weren't going to declare war on the world again, that we would face the consequences. The thing is, my uncle was my advisor, and he… well, he was killed in that town. He was in his tea shop, making tea, and they burned it down. He was killed. I need someone with me. I need someone to help me take action. Katara, I came here to ask for your help…"

Katara gave Zuko a puzzled look. She pointed to herself and whispered, "Me!?" She raised her eyebrows and moved back a couple of steps. She looked straight into his golden eyes and whispered, "Zuko, I'm so sorry to hear about your uncle," she looked down, "I also know how it feels to lose someone close…" Tears began swelling up in her eyes, "and I'm sorry that there are rebels that are still for war. I'm sorry that you have no family left. I'm sorry that Aang is dead. I'm sorry that the war ever started in the first place…"

She walked briskly out of the palace to the edge of the water. Looking down, she saw a gloomy face staring back at her. A single tear fell into the water. The water rippled. She looked up into the night sky. There was a full moon, and its light fell right onto the palace. Zuko walked up behind her. "Are you okay?" he asked. She sat silently, staring into the depths of the ocean. "Are you ok?" he asked again. She looked up abruptly.

"Oh! Yeah… I guess."

"You seem depressed."

"It's hard to think about someone you've lost."

"Oh. Right."

She stood up and looked out over the ocean. Waves were crashing against icebergs. She looked, once again, into the sky. She saw something. From where they were, it looked like a simple dot. She studied it closer, and pointed. "Zuko, what's that?"

"Where?"

"That thing, up in the sky! Don't you see it!?"

Zuko looked closer, and his eyes became wide. He knew what it was, he was just wondering how it found him. "Katara, get on Appa and fly out to sea, but stay close to the ocean. I need to speak to your father. It's very important."

"But what is it!?!" she yelled.

"I don't have enough time. Just GO!"

He raced back up to the palace doors. Katara ran over to Appa and got onto his saddle. "Yip yip!" Appa took off into the night sky. Katara whispered, "Fly low Appa." Appa lost a little speed and decreased his altitude so they were about 1 foot above the water. Katara lay on her stomach and watched the ocean fly by. Momo sneaked up behind her and pounced on her back. She screamed and turned around. "Momo! Don't scare me like that again!" she exclaimed. She turned back around, and was immediately frozen with fear.

Zuko ran into the palace. "Chief! I need to speak to you, now!" Several people were staring at Zuko. They knew something was wrong. Zuko ran up to him and whispered, "They have followed me. I don't know how or why, but I could spot one of their hawks anywhere. After he said that, a red feathered hawk glided through the doors of the palace, screeching. It dropped a small piece of parchment onto the icy floor, and flew away into the night. Zuko walked over and picked up the note. His fingers trembled, and he fumbled with it while he was opening it. It read:

_Chief of the Southern Water Tribe,_

_We are right on the borders of your land. If you do not surrender your tribe to us, we will have to take force. Surrender or we will be hostile to your people._

Zuko showed the note to the Chief. The Chief scanned over the note and looked over at Zuko. "Who are these people and what do they want?!" he yelled. Some of the people began walking over to him.

"What's wrong?"

"Is something happening?"

"Is something going to happen to our children!?!"

There was a stern face on the Chief. "Sokka, prepare the waterbenders and the warriors. They will be on our doorstep at any moment. Firelord Zuko, I want you to protect my daughter. I know she can fight, but I just want her to have some extra protection."

Katara was frozen with fear. Beads of cold sweat dripped down the back of her neck. She gulped. She was gazing at a fleet of Fire Nation ships. She could see the firebenders loading the catapults and trebuchets. She immediately knew that they weren't with Zuko. Katara was reminded of that time 8 years ago when she saw the same thing happen. That morning they came when she was 8, her mother had been killed by them. She was enraged, and felt as if she could attack on her own, but she knew she was outnumbered. She turned Appa around and flew back towards the palace.

The citizens of the Southern Water Tribe were preparing their defense. Zuko stood on the edge of the water, waiting for Katara. He then saw her in the distance. As her face came in to view, he right then knew that it was true. Rebels from the Fire Nation had come to take the Southern Water Tribe.


End file.
